Black Bird
by Liminal Thoughts
Summary: The mysterious boy with the shining eyes and playful laugh never left Seto's mind, not for a moment. SetoxCrow


Seto and Sai made their way back to the dilapidated fun park, searching for the "moon" that the the strange ghost girl at the hotel had requested.

"Man, this place sure is creepy at night." Sai said, giving an exaggerated shiver. Seto thought it was kind of ironic that she of all people would say that, being a ghost and all.

"I actually think it's kind of pretty." Seto commented. He meant it too, the bright flecks of paint that remained on the rundown equipment, the way the plant life that had reclaimed the area weaved in and out of the metal structures, the way the moonlight illuminated the faded plastic of the rides. It all had a very melancholy yet peaceful air to it. Sai just shrugged.

"Of course you would think that, weirdo." She chuckled.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Seto.

"Hey Sai, do you think it'd be alright if we took a little while to find the moon? There's something I wanna see here first."

Sai gave him a questioning look. "Why the heck are you asking me? I don't think the girl would mind, if that's what you meant."

Seto smiled. "Alright then!"

With Sai watching him, a puzzled expression on her face, he scaled the one of merry-go-round horses and stood carefully on the edge of the old roof. When he was sure the rusted structure wouldn't give way under his weight, he sucked in a deep breath and shouted.

"Crow! Hey Crow! Are you still around here? It's me, Seto!"

He waited for a moment, listening intently to the night time silence, straining to hear over the din of crickets and cicadas. A few moments passed and he tried calling Crow's name again. And again. Eventually, his smiled faded and he slowly climbed down from his perch. It was to be expected, he thought to himself, it had been two whole days since he'd been there, of course Crow had moved on to search for the room in the picture.

"Jeez, what's with all the shouting? You're so noisy!" A familiar voice cut through the air. Seto turned quickly towards the ferris wheel to see a dark silhouette perched playfully on one of the rungs.

"Crow!" Seto beamed, the disappointment that had clouded his features moments before vanished. At the mention of his name, the dark haired boy skillfully made his way down the ferris wheel, before leaping off and landing right in front of his friend.

"Hey there, heard ya calling. Miss me already?"

Sai floated over, observing the two smiling boys with an amused expression.

"So who's this, Seto? Your boyfriend?" She teased.

Seto rolled his eyes, but Crow grinned widely and replied.

"Yup, sure am!"

"Wh-what?!" Seto practically leaped back, his face flushed with embarrassment. "N-no! We're just, we're not-!"

Sai was practically doubled over at this point, but Crow's expression had turned somewhat angry.

"What, I'm not your friend anymore? Huh?" He said with an accusing tone. Seto was taken aback.

"Huh? No, Crow, that's not what that-"

"No, it's fine, I get it. You found ghost girl here so you don't need me as a friend anymore." He was definitely angry now.

"Crow, no, we're still-!"

"Whatever! I don't wanna hear it. Have fun with your new friend, I won't bother you." And with that, he stormed off, disappearing over one of the park partitions.

"Wh- Crow, wait!" Seto called after him, but he was long gone.

After a moment, Sai spoke. "I...I'm sorry. I think that was kind of my fault." Her tone was apologetic. "I was just teasing you, I didn't think he'd get so offended by it."

Seto rubbed his head. "No, it's alright, I think he just misunderstood." Seto sighed. Dealing with people was harder than he thought. "Anyway, we should go find him so I can apologize."

"Good idea, but why did he get so upset anyway? I mean, he's not actually your boyfriend is he?" Sai said, with a hint of a joking tone.

"No, we're just friends, but..." Seto thought back to their last encounter. "I don't think he really knows a lot about, well, things."

"...Things?" Sai raised a brow. Well, her only visible brow.

"I mean, well like, last time we met he, uh..." He blushed a bit and lowered his voice. "He kind of um... Kissed me."

"He did _what_?!" Sai practically shouted, floating closer to the blushing boy's face. He held up his hands in a mock defense.

"No! It's not like that, he thought that's what normal friends did!" He said quickly. "I know it might sound strange, but I don't think Crow's, well, _human_."

She crossed her arms and gave him an indignant look. Oh right, he was talking to a ghost here.

"L-look, anyway, let's go find him so I can say sorry." He said, obviously trying to end the discussion. But something was still bothering Sai.

"Hey Seto." She started. "How do you know he doesn't feel that way about you?"

"Huh? Feel what way?" He replied nervously, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You know what way, you moron." She gave him a serious stare. "He could know more than you think he does, and I think it's important for you to find out just _how_ he feels. Unless, of course, you're okay with potentially hurting his feelings again."

Seto looked down. He really didn't want to hurt Crow, in fact, that was the last thing in the world he wanted.

"But...how do I find that out?"

Sai shrugged. "Just ask him. That's the easiest way at least."

_But that's so embarrassing!_

"But first, how do you feel about, what was his name, Crow?"

Seto was taken aback by the question.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me. How do you feel about him?"

He was a friend, right? A best friend, but still just a friend...right? Seto hadn't really questioned it before, how would he even know if he felt any different? Just the feeling of having a friend was something totally new for him, how was he supposed to know if he felt anything beyond that? What did that even feel like? The very concept of loving and being loved was completely foreign to him.

"I guess... I don't really know." He answered eventually. Sai rolled her eye.

"Well, it's obvious you two have a lot you need to discuss." She said, sounding somewhat exasperated. "Tell ya what. I'll go look for the moon, and leave you alone to go look for Crow so you two can talk things out, alright?"

After a moment, Seto nodded. "Alright."

"Good, we'll meet back here then, okay?"

"Got it."

And with that, they went on their separate searches.

Seto knew from experience that tracking down Crow wasn't going to be easy, but at least now he had a bit better idea of where to look. However, after having checked the area around the ferris wheel, the bridge, and the entrance, he was starting to get worried. Crow hadn't left, had he? What if Crow was more upset than Seto realized? What if he never even wanted to see Seto again? What if they never _did_ meet again? When the only place that remained unsearched was the rollercoaster, Seto began to panic. He remembered back to when Crow had fallen from the ferris wheel, that horrible feeling he felt when he thought that Crow had died was returning, the thought that he'd never see him again, never talk to him again. That he'd be that much more alone in the world. A cold feeling grew in the pit of his stomach as he approached the service door to the rollercoaster.

_Please be here, please be here, please be here!_

Slowly, he opened the door and entered the area. The winding form of the coaster was silhouetted against the starry night sky like a great black snake, coiling around the entire park. Perched on one of the scaffoldings, just barely illuminated by the moonlight, was the figure of a young boy with shining eyes and ebony hair.

"Crow!"

Crow turned to look at Seto, glared, and then turned away.

"Go away! I don't wanna talk to you right now." He shouted. Maybe it was just Seto's imagination, but was his voice seemed to waver a bit, like he'd been crying or was about to.

"Crow please, I'm sorry, of course you're still my friend!" Seto shouted back as he walked towards where Crow was.

"Yeah right, then why didn't you say so in front of ghost girl? What, are you embarrassed of me or something?" He snapped back.

"That...That wasn't..." Seto didn't really know how to explain that "boyfriend" and "friend" didn't mean the same thing. "What Sai said was um..." he searched for an explanation as he climbed the ladder to the scaffolding. "She was just joking around, asking if we were, ya know..."

Crow turned his head around as Seto sat down behind him, his face a mix of confusion and anger. "No, I don't know. Jeesh, this is why I hate humans." He grumbled and turned back around.

Seto looked down. "So... Do you hate me now?" He asked slowly. Crow sighed.

"...No. You're just, really really frustrating sometimes."

_Look who's talking._

"Then..." Seto figured now was as good a time as any to ask. "How do you feel about me?"

"Well, I thought you were my friend!" He snapped, wheeling around and standing up so quickly that Seto jumped a bit. Crow's face was contorted in a myriad of emotions, anger, sadness, frustration. Seeing his friend in such distress because of him made Seto's heart hurt.

"Crow... Have you been crying?"

"No, of course not!" He said quickly, looking almost embarrassed. "I told you, I've never cried a day in my life!"

"...Hey Crow, do you know the difference between friends and, well, beyond that?" Seto asked, trying to find the least embarrassing wording he could.

Crow gave him a confused look at the sudden strange question. "What, like best friends?"

Seto shook his head. "No, like..." He tried to put it into words. "Someone that you want to be around all the time, and it hurts when you can't see them. That being around them makes you feel happy and warm, and safe, and you couldn't stand to see something happen to them. Like that." Seto blushed, so much for not being embarrassing.

Crow didn't answer, but seemed deep in thought.

"So... Which one do you think about me?" Seto asked hesitantly.

"Shut up, I'm thinking!" Crow crossed his arms, looking away.

"I..." He finally spoke. "I guess, well... When you left, I was really sad. Not sad enough to cry, mind you." He added quickly. "But, well, even though you're stupid, and as human as they come, I really like being around you and talking to you. Even when I first met you, the way you acted all timid and naive, the way you talked, I don't know, it made my heart feel funny and... I hated that you were making me feel that way, so I started picking on you. But then when you started crying, it made my heart hurt, and then when you said you had to go..." His expression saddened. "It felt even worse. So I thought I'd try that thing they do in books, where two people who say goodbye, and really like each other a lot..." He trailed off.

"You mean... The kiss?"

"Yeah." Crow nodded. "So... I guess that's your answer." He sat down in front of Seto, looking him right in the eye with such an intensity that Seto's heart sped up.

"Alright, now how do you feel about me?"

Seto flushed a bright red. Truthfully he'd come to the conclusion while Crow was talking, but his mouth was refusing to move.

"I, well I..." He sputtered out, his eyes looking anywhere but Crow's intense gaze, though the look quickly turned to one of frustration.

"Oh, just spit it out already!" He shouted, making Seto jump.

"I-IREALLYLIKEYOUTOOCROW." The words came out in a rushed torrent.

Crow eyes widened in surprise at the sudden outburst, but then he busted out laughing. Poor Seto though, was beet red and on the verge of tears.

"D-don't laugh at me..." He whined.

Crow tried to calm himself down. "S-sorry." He said breathlessly. "That was just the _lamest _confession I've ever heard in my entire life!"

Seto looked down, he was beyond embarrassed now, he just wanted to crawl in a nice deep hole somewhere and stay there forever. His misery was interrupted though when he felt Crow's hand lift up his chin, and then a moment later, something soft and cool pressed against his lips. This kiss was different from the first one, the first kiss had happened so suddenly that Seto didn't have time to even register what was happening, but this time, it sent sparks through Seto's mind and down through his entire body. It was just a chaste, innocent kiss, but to Seto it was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to him. They parted after a few moments, and Crow looked with a sort of smug satisfaction at Seto's dreamy expression.

"So, was that a beyond-friends kiss?" He asked

Seto nodded slowly, still a little dazed. Crow just laughed and gently brushed a hand along the boy's face, a shiver went down Seto's spine at the touch.

"Ya, know, you're actually pretty cute, for a human." Crow said with a smirk.

Seto wanted to say how handsome and mysterious he found Crow, but forming words was a little difficult right now. But then Crow's expression darkened a bit.

"Hey." He said, his sombre tone bringing Seto back to reality.

"When you find that girl you're looking for, and I find the place in my photo, we'll meet back up right?" He asked, trying to hide the sadness in his voice.

Seto nodded. "Yeah, of course we will."

"Even if I take a really long time to find it, you'll wait for me right?" He asked. "Because I'll wait for you."

"I promise." Seto said, he wrapped his hand around the one Crow had rested on his cheek. "And if I finish my search first, I'll come find you and help with yours."

Crow smiled. "Yeah, and I'll do the same." He moved his hand and intertwined his fingers with Seto's.

They sat there for a while, hands connected, enjoying each other's company in silence as they looked out to the sea of stars that stretched across the night sky, as though making even the slightest sound would shatter the peaceful moment. But Seto knew, as much as he wanted to, that he couldn't stay there forever.

"I have to go now." Seto said finally, hesitantly letting go of Crow's hand. "Sai's waiting for me, she'll get annoyed if I take too long..." He trailed off sadly.

Crow averted his gaze. "Right. Yeah, of course, we both still have things we need to do, don't we." He said, his voice was flat.

Seto stood up and leaned over Crow. Then, lifting up his hat, he planted a shaky kiss on his forehead. Crow chuckled.

"You dummy, what was that?" He smiled up at Seto with playful expression as he rearranged his cap, causing Seto's blush to return.

"I-it was a goodbye kiss." He stuttered.

"If you say so." Crow shrugged. Seto's expression turned sad again.

"I guess then, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

And with that, Seto climbed down the scaffolding and went back to meet Sai, stealing one last glance at the figure standing on the rollercoaster.

They'd definitely see each other again, Seto was sure of it.


End file.
